According to AppleInsider, the period from July to December 2025 was a frenzy of new Apple hardware, including the launch of an M5-powered iPad Pro, a new M5 Apple Vision Pro, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max. The rumor mill also churned out talk of a potential “iPhone Air” model. All of this product activity unfolded against a backdrop of persistent, seemingly recycled legal battles and ongoing challenges with the rollout of Apple Intelligence features, suggesting a year where innovation and inertia collided.
Product Pandemonium
So, the M5 chip finally made its way to the iPad Pro and, interestingly, a second-gen Vision Pro. That’s a lot of silicon in a short span. It makes you wonder about Apple’s production cadence and whether they’re starting to stretch their chip teams a bit thin. And the iPhone lineup? An 18 Pro Max is expected, but an “iPhone Air”? That name feels like a throwback. Is it a super-light flagship, or maybe Apple’s finally making a serious foldable? The rumor itself is more intriguing than the likely product. Honestly, after the whirlwind of M4 devices earlier in the year, this second-half blitz feels like Apple is just relentlessly iterating to stay ahead. But here’s the thing: when everything gets an “M5” sticker, does the upgrade start to feel less special?
The More Things Change…
Now, the part that really got me was the mention of “new legal battles you’d swear were old.” That’s the most Apple sentence ever written in 2025. It speaks to a company that’s perpetually in a state of legal warfare—with regulators, with competitors, with app developers. It’s exhausting just to think about. And pairing that with “ongoing Apple Intelligence issues” paints a picture of a giant trying to run on two very different tracks: one focused on building incredible, complex hardware like advanced industrial panel PCs for enterprise, and another mired in the messy, slow world of software ecosystems and global compliance. The hardware usually wins the sprint, but the software and legal marathons never seem to end.
Was 2025 a Win?
Looking back, was it a successful year? On a spreadsheet, probably. They shipped a ton of new gear. But success isn’t just about new SKUs. It’s about momentum and narrative. If your biggest headlines are split between shiny new toys and the same old courtroom dramas, what does that say? The promise of Apple Intelligence was supposed to be a unifying platform play, a reason to buy into the entire ecosystem. If it’s still having “ongoing issues” by year’s end, that’s a problem. It means the story of 2025 might be remembered as “Apple launched a lot of powerful devices that were waiting for their software to catch up.” Not exactly the legacy you want.
